Bleaching or stain-removing composition and method



Patented Nov. 4, 1924.

U ITE STATES IATENTOFFICE.

' ROBERT A. PHAIR, or ALLEN'IDALE, NEW JERSEY, AssIGNoR T0 H. KOHNSTAIM'MZ & 00.,

me, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

BLEACHING OR STAIN-REMOVING- COMPOSITION AND METHOD.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. PHAIR, a citizen of the United States, residing in Allendale, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bleaching or Stain-Removing Compositions I and Methods, of which the following is a specification.

In laundering operations and treating textile materials it is common to use a bleach for removing stains and whitening the fabric, and chlorine compounds are generally used for this purpose; such, for example, as sodium hypochlorite. Considerable care has to be used in the application of such bleaches to avoid a destructive action thereby on the fabric and on any coloring matter used in printing or dyeing the goods.

I havediscovered certain compositions which may be used instead of the .usual bleaches, with greater stain removing power and less destructive efi'ect.

One exampleof this composition includes or comprises a mixture of-sodium'hypochlorite solution with caustic soda in a certain ratio. The sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is characterized in this art as containing a certain quantity of available chlorine, which expression refers not directly to the quantity ofthe chlorine in the compound but to the oxidizing power (which is the bleachin power) of the compound; That is, the b eaching power, although expressed in terms of chlorine, is the oxidizing power of the compound.

To get the increased. stain removing power and lessened destructive power desired, I make up a mixture containing approximately 20 or more parts of caustic soda or every 27 parts of available chlorine ,in the hypochlorite solution. Such a mixture for example would be made up of the following ingredients by weight,sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) 30 parts; caustic soda (N aOH) 20 parts; water as desired.

The compositions described above may be made and sold as mixtures intended to be added to a uantity of water necessary to roduce a so ution of the desired strength.

r the ingredients may be added separately to make u the desired'solution.

I have iscovered also that the fabric or color may be protected from the action of the bleach by using the latter in combina- -connection with .chlorine' bleaches.

Application filed June 28, 1923. Serial No. 648.354.

tion with material, constituting a sort of buffer, which is intermediate in resistance to oxidation by the bleach between the products to be removed by the bleaching and the fabric or color which is to be protected from the action of the bleach. That is, this buffer material is to be more resistant than the matter to be removed and less resistant than the fabric or color. The principal thing to be removed in simple bleaching of fabrics is the coloring matter (gray in cotton, brown in jute and so forth) characteristic of unbleached? products. In laund work it is the stains or dirt on the'woi k which have to be removed. Y

This buffer material may be any reducing agent which acts on the bleach before the latter acts. on the fabric or color'to be preserved, but not before the bleach acts on the stains, dirt or coloring matter to be removed. And where there are two coloring matters in the goods, one of which is to beremoved in the bleaching'and the other not, as the graycoloring matter in unbleached cotton referred to and a color printed on the goods for example, the intermediate reducing agent will act on the bleach after the latterhas acted on the coloring matter to be removed and before it has acted on the coloring matter to be retained on the goods.

There are various agents which are reducing to bleaches and suitable for the purpose stated. Certain carbohydrates are particularlyuseful for this purpose, such as corn sugar. This will serve for most laundry work or'textile work. But where the material or color to be protected is unusually sensitive to the bleach, it is preferable to use a carbohydrate or other agent of higher reducing power to the bleach, such for example as casein or gelatine. I have used the commercial corn sugar,- known as cerelose, with good eflect in ordinary cases. Other corn sugars have been used also with good effect. I

The combination of only two bleach and caustic soda, is of value onlyniln buffer material referred to, however, such as corn sugar, is useful with all the so-calledoxidizing bleaches, whether the basis be a chlorine compound or oxygen compounds such, for example, as hydrogen peroxide.

The combination of bleach and caustic elements,

the old andnsual materials, a textile bleacln soda maybe used as a complete agent for the purposes stated above. -The .same is true of the combination of the bleach with corn sugar and similar reducing agents.

I have found with this combination of elementsnot only that thecolor and: fabric canbe protected but that this protection i makesit possible also to carry out the; desired operationsvery -mucli more rapidly,

than with prior agents and processes,

i F or example, inone test Itound that with ing operatlon required about 24' hours;

whereas a similar operation with the ma? terials of this invention secured the sameresults in about 5 hours, and I believe that this time could be further reduced. In the.

old fashioned operationthe solutions had i to be used. cold to lessen the destructive activity of the bleach, Whereas with my operation the solution could be heated, and in the particular test referred to, the bleaching solution was heated tolQ/J degrees F., the

subsequent rinsing operations being with cold water. -Also with the old fashioned operation it was impossible to use more than about half the quantity of bleach used with my invention without-injury to the color.

A specific example of the test of my invention referred to is the following. First the goods were subjected to two successive treatments of 2-hours each in a solution containing sodium hypochlorite calculated as 0.27% of available chlorine; 0.27% of dry cerelose; 0.20% of dry caustic soda. The third treatment was a rinse in cold water. The fourth was a rinse in cold waterto which was added 0.20% of sodium-sulfite or hydrosulfite. This is a usual addition to the rinses for the purpose of neutralizing any traces of the bleach remaining in the goods, but I have found that it can generally be dispensed with in applying my process. The fifth operation was another cold rinse in plain water and the sixth and last operation was a cold rinse with 0.20% of a cold laundry or textile sour, as is usual for neutralizing any remaining alkali and for liberating from the goods any traces of the sulfite or hydrosulfite. The goods treated were a blue strqiped cotton fabric.

ough I have described with great particularity of detail a certain embodiment of my invention, yet it is not to be understood therefrom that the invention is restricted to the particular embodiment described. Various modifications may be made and various additions added thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goodsto a sodium hypochlorite bleach and caustic soda, containing approximately QOparts or more of caustic soda for every 27 parts of available chlorine in:

said bleach.

- 2.111 the laundering or bleaching of ten I tile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goods to a heated solution of a chlorine bleach and. caustic soda containing approximatelyQO parts or more of= i ing approximately 30 parts of sodium;hypochlorite and 20 or more parts .ot' caustic soda.

4.:Acompos1tion for use in the laundering or bleaching of textile materials includ-.

ing a chlorinebleach and caustic soda and containing approximately 20 parts or more of the latter for every 27 parts of available chlorine in the former.

5. A composition for use. in the laundering or bleaching of textile materials containing approximately 30 parts of sodium hypochlorite and 20 or more parts of caustic. soda, 6. In the laundering or bleachingof tex tilematerials, the process which includes subjecting the goods to a bleach and to areducing agent which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved and less sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

7. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goods to a heated solution of a "bleach and a reducing agent which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved and less sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

8. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goods toa bleach and to a reducing agent which is intermediate in resistance between the matter to be removed by the bleach and the matter to be preserved.

9. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the rocess which includes subjecting the 00 s to a bleach and to a reducing agent w ich is intermediate in resistance between two coloring matters in the goods.

10. In the laundering or bleachin of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goods to a bleach and to a carbohydrate which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved.

1.1. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goods to a bleach and to corn sugar. a

12. A composition for use in the laundering or bleaching of textile materials including a bleach and a reducing agent which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved and less sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

13. A composition for use in the laundering or bleaching of textile materials including a bleach and a reducing agent which is intermediate in resistance between the matter to be removed by the bleach and the matter to be preserved.

14. A composition for use in the laundering or bleaching of textile materials including a bleach and a reducing agent which is intermediate in resistance between two coloring matters in the goods.

15. A composition for use in the laundering or bleaching of textile materials including a bleach and a carbohydrate which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved and less sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

16. A composition for use in the launder- I ing or bleaching of textile materials including a bleach and corn sugar.

17. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the roods to a chlorine bleach, caustic soda and a reducing agent which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved and less sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

18. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goods to a heated solution of a. chlorine bleach, caustic soda and a reducing agent which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved and less sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

19. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goods to a chlorine bleach, caustic sodaand a carbohydrate which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the mate rial or color to be preserved and less sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

20. In the laundering or bleaching of textile materials, the process which includes subjecting the goods to a solution containing the ollowing ingredients in substantially the proportions stated,-namely a chlorine bleach calculated as 27 part of available chlorine, 27 parts of corn sugar and 20 parts of caustic soda.

21 A composition for use in the laundering or bleaching of textile materials includ ing a chlorine bleach, caustic soda and a reducing agent which 1s more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved and les sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

22. A composition for use in the laundering or bleaching of textile materials includ ing a chlorine bleach, caustic soda and a carbohydrate which is more sensitive to the bleach than is the material or color to be preserved and less sensitive to the bleach than is the substance to be removed.

23. A composition for use in the laundering or bleaching of'textile materials containing the following ingredients in substantially the proportions stated,namely, a chlorine bleach calculated as 27 parts of available chlorine, 27 parts of corn Sugar and 20 parts of caustic soda.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

ROBERT A. PHAIR. 

